The present invention relates to a rivet for temporarily fastening two adjacent work pieces together.
Rivets are typically used for permanently fastening adjacent work pieces together. The work pieces typically have apertures therethrough which are in alignment with one another and rivets are then inserted into the apertures. The rivets are then connected to walls of the apertures by expansion of a sleeve of the rivet by suitable means. The expansion of the sleeve against the walls of the apertures provides a tight fit to permanently fasten the work pieces together.
In many operations, such as in the construction of a fuselage of an airplane, panels are attached to a frame by the use of hundreds and thousands of rivets. Prior to the fastening of the rivets to the frame and the panels, though, the operator must ensure that the apertures of the panels and the frame stay in alignment. Thus, prior to the permanent fastening of rivets to the apertures of the panels and the frame, tacking rivets are inserted into a percentage, i.e., 1 in every 10, of the aligned apertures to ensure proper alignment of all of the apertures.
After the tacking rivets are inserted into a percentage of the apertures, the operator begins to attach rivets to the apertures of the panels and the frame to permanently attach the panels to the frame. When the operator comes upon apertures which have previously been attached by the tacking rivets, the operator removes the tacking rivet by drilling through a head and sleeve of the tacking rivet and the work pieces with a drill of a proper diameter. Once the tacking rivet is removed from the apertures of the work pieces, the operator installs a permanent rivet within the apertures of the work pieces to permanently attach the panels to the frame.
It has been found that during the drilling of such tacking rivets, the tacking rivets often succumb to the rotation of the drill by turning or spinning with the drill during the drilling operation which can interfere with and cause problems with the drilling operation. Thus, there is a need for a tacking rivet which will not present the problems caused by prior art tacking rivets which turn or spin with the drill during the drilling operation. The present invention provides a tacking rivet which overcomes the disadvantages and problems of prior art tacking rivets, such that it will not turn or spin with the drill during the drilling operation.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a tacking rivet used for attaching work pieces together which does not turn or spin during a drilling operation.
An object of the invention is to provide a tacking rivet which effectively and temporarily attaches work pieces together by expansion of a sleeve of the tacking rivet against walls of apertures within the work pieces.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tacking rivet which effectively prevents turning or spinning of the tacking rivet during a drilling operation by embedding a plurality of ribs on a sleeve of the tacking rivet into walls of apertures within the work pieces during the expansion of a sleeve of the tacking rivet.
Briefly, and in accordance with the foregoing, the present invention provides a tacking rivet for fastening work pieces together which have aligned apertures therethrough. The tacking rivet includes a head portion and an elongated sleeve portion extending from the head portion. Both the head portion and the elongated sleeve portion have openings therethrough which are in alignment with one another. The tacking rivet further includes a plurality of rib portions positioned on an outer surface of the elongated sleeve portion which are capable of engaging with walls of the apertures of the work pieces when the elongated sleeve portion is expanded within the apertures of the work pieces. Because the rib portions engage with the walls of the apertures of the work pieces, the tacking rivet will not rotate within the apertures during a drilling operation to remove the tacking rivet from the apertures prior to the installation of a permanent fastener to fasten the work pieces together.